Shall we dance tonight?
by For Crimson Air
Summary: Kaiji is invited to a party held by the rich boy Kazuya Hyoudou, but he knows nothing about dancing. There, he meets the proffesional dancer Ichijou Seiya. Will he learn a little bit by the end of the night? (IchiKai fanfic)


**Shall we dance tonight?**

The alarm woke Kaiji up with a loud noise, making him mutter, still half-asleep. Did he setup the alarm like that? He didn't remember. He opened his eyes slightly and looked for his phone. As always, it was on the floor, probably after being thrown out of the bed sometime during the night. He picked it up, stretching out his arm lazily, and turned off the alarm.

He turned around in the sheets, thinking about how he wished it was still weekend. The room was covered in a faint light, coming through the cracks of the window blinds. Kaiji let out a sigh, knowing he had to get ready for work. He sat down on the bed and his body suddenly felt heavy. His back hurt, probably because of all the heavy weight he had to carry the day before. He sighed again. He couldn't complain; that had been the only part-time job he had been accepted in.

He got up to open the window, letting the cool morning breeze inside the room. He liked spring, he liked that cold air in the morning. Working was much easier with that kind of weather, and he was thankful for it. He looked outside, at the same scenery he saw every day. A boring scenery.

He walked towards his small wardrobe to pick some clean clothes, avoiding to walk onto the dirty ones that were spread all over the floor. He had arrived late the last night, drunk thanks to a coworker, and had just thrown his clothes all over the place. He then went to the bathroom, to take a shower, with the clean clothes over his shoulder.

When he walked outside the bathroom, already dressed up, he made his way to the kitchen to have some breakfast, but stopped halfway to pick his phone up. Someone was calling him. He frowned at the name that appeared on the screen. What could Endou want so early in the morning?

"Endou?" Kaiji said, taking the call.

"Ah, Kaiji! I knew you would be awake. Must be tough to get up every day so early to get to work, huh?" Endou's voice showed that he was in a good mood.

That only annoyed Kaiji even more, not wanting to hear his voice so early. He leant against a wall, trying to give his back a break, while he kept talking with Endou.

"So? What do you want?" He said, trying to get to the point.

"Do you think we could meet up before you head to your job today? Maybe we could have some coffee. Did you have breakfast already?" Endou replied "There's something I want to discuss with you, but I will be busy later, so now's a good time to talk."

Kaiji pressed his lips. He had known Endou for quite a long time. Kaiji had first seen him lending money to the boss he was working for at that time. After that, they happened to meet in bars and other places, and Endou seemed to remember him. They eventually ended up talking to each other, and Endou had always tried to get Kaiji into his fishy business. He always was there when there was some dirty job behind. And Kaiji was not feeling like getting tricked by him.

"Meet you at the usual place?" Kaiji finally said.

"Yeah! Thanks, man. See you." Endou hung up before letting Kaiji say a word.

Kaiji let out a sigh, putting his phone into his pants pocket. He grabbed his keys, a jacket, and left the dusty apartment. He immediately put his jacket on, feeling the cold air against his skin, making him shiver slightly. He walked through the streets, towards a coffee shop that both Endou and him used to go to. It was close to his apartment, and coffee was quite cheap there, so Kaiji ended up going way too often. It was not that hard for Endou to find out his habits.

He arrived to the coffee shop and saw Endou inside, already with a cup in his hands, waiting for him. He walked in, pressing his lips, wishing Endou didn't have in mind to offer him some dirty job. He knew that Kaiji was in need for money, but there were some things that he would never do for it, no matter what.

He sat next to Endou, without greeting him, and the other man chuckled, noticing the cold stare Kaiji was giving him.

"As friendly as usual, right?" He said.

He was obviously trying to light up the mood, but Kaiji didn't give in. He asked for a coffee when the waitress approached him, and then glared at Endou.

"So? What do you want to talk about?"

Endou chuckled.

"How straight-forward." He pointed out. He then took something out of his blazer's inner pocket: an envelope. He left it on the table, and looked back at Kaiji. "Does the name

"Kazuya Hyoudou" mean something for you?"

Kaiji folded his arms, glancing at the envelope, feeling slightly curious about it.

"Yeah, of course. It's that party-loving rich kid. He loves finding new ways to waste his money with…" Kaiji replied.

"Yes, I guess that's true." Endou nodded at Kaiji's words, amused, and then continued. "Well, he's throwing another party, a special one. He's gathering up important people to make a classy party. You know, fancy clothes, fancy dancing. Not your usual nightclub, something way more refined."

Kaiji shrugged his shoulders at that explanation.

"A party for rich kids. Promoted by his father, I suppose."

"Damn right" Endou smirked. His fingers touched the envelope lightly, like trying to catch Kaiji's attention. "And he's looking for guests. As you might know, I'm affiliated with him, and I'm in charge of finding some extra guests. He doesn't want it to be a rich-only party, since he thinks that might be boring. He wants some surprises. Did you know he loves surprises?"

Kaiji frowned.

"Are you telling me that this envelope…?" He didn't finish his sentence, feeling kind of nervous about it.

But Endou nodded again.

"Yes. An invitation to Kazuya's party."

Kaiji looked at the middle-aged man sitting in front of him.

"What? Are you asking me to go to that party?" He said. "I'm not going!"

"Come on, Kaiji, give it a thought." Endou leant back, his smirk widening. "You can go to an amazing party, just for free. You lend me a hand, you get rewarded. Don't you know that you wouldn't be able to ever assist to one of these parties by your own in your entire life?"

Kaiji's frown didn't disappear. Endou's arguments seemed just stupid to him.

"So what? I don't like Kazuya. I don't like rich brats. And that party doesn't have anything to do with me. Why should I go?" He said.

"Because it might get you a chance, Kaiji." Endou suddenly seemed serious. He wasn't smirking anymore, and his voice was calm. Kaiji listened to his words carefully. "There will be lots of different people at that party. Of course, most of them rich people. But some of them go to those parties to find other people, to find talents. And maybe you could be that guy. Maybe you could be offered some sweet deal. Collaborating in a rich man's business sounds way better than working all your life in a part-time job, am I right?"

Kaiji blinked quickly, thinking about Endou's words. There was something about the way he talked, something that caught one's attention so easily… and before you realized it, he already got you in his game. He looked away, trying to avoid this.

"But you can't tell that for sure…" He said, trying to convince himself.

"So what? Are you just going to wait for chances to fly at you? You have to get them! You have to take those chances; you have to look for them." Endou put one hand over the envelope, getting it closer to Kaiji.

The younger boy glared at it, pressing his lips, trying to fight back his desire to take the invitation… but also thinking about Endou's words. About how tempting his offer sounded. It was free after all, right? So, maybe…

"You won't get a chance like this another time, Kaiji." Endou's words were charming to him, making him waver.

Kaiji folded his arms, doubting. He couldn't trust Endou so easily, after seeing him tricking so many people.

"No… consequences?" He asked, looking at the man sitting before him.

"No consequences as long as you don't get yourself into something, of course. It's only a party… unless you choose it to be something else." Endou replied.

Kaiji frowned… and put his hand over the envelope.

"I'll go." He accepted, pressing his lips.

Endou smiled widely.

"I knew you would! Don't worry, everything will be okay. And you could get out of it with a sweet deal between your hands. I just needed to fill the party with people, and knew you would appreciate it."

Kaiji didn't answer to that. He didn't really want to overthink it, because he knew he couldn't trust Endou. He just slid the envelope in his jacket's pocket, and quickly finished drinking his coffee.

"Oh, right, you have to get to work." Endou pointed out.

Kaiji looked back at him, frowning again.

"But I… I don't have a suit. And I don't know how to dance." He said.

Endou almost chuckled when he heard that, but held it back, looking at Kaiji and smiling.

"Oh, it's okay. I'll make them send you a suit. And as for dancing… you can just stay in a corner." After saying this, he got up, leaving the money of his coffee on the table, and waving his hand to Kaiji as he left the coffee shop.

Kaiji looked at him as he walked outside, and clicked his tongue. He didn't like him, at all. He paid his coffee to the waitress and then headed to work, thinking about the invitation that he had inside his pocket. A party held by Kazuya Hyoudou.

* * *

On his way to his apartment, Kaiji kept thinking about his meeting with Endou that morning. He stopped as he walked past a store, where they had suits and dresses on the window display. He looked at them. Different colors, with neckties of different patterns… He pressed his lips. He could never afford one of those by his own. He kept walking, wanting to arrive home as soon as possible to read the invitation.

He closed the door of his apartment behind him, leaving the keys on the lock. He quickly took his jacket off and pulled the invitation out of the pocket. He walked into his room, sitting on the bed as he opened the envelope. He was nervous. Would Kazuya notice him in the party? Would someone notice that he couldn't dance, that he didn't belong to that kind of place? No, that didn't seem possible. He would be dressed up as them, after all. He should fit in there, even though he didn't feel like he would.

He took a red card out of the envelope. The letters written on it were black, and the message was short and straight-forward, indicating the place and date of the party. That was the only thing inside the envelope. Kaiji put the card back inside, leaving it on his nightstand, and leant back, looking at the ceiling.

"A party, huh…" He whispered to himself.

He was slightly excited about it, but most of all, he felt nervous. How should he act in there? Would it be okay to just stand in a corner, staring at the other people dancing? He let out a sigh as he lied in his bed. "Next weekend", he thought, thinking about what was written in the invitation.

Before realizing it, he fell asleep, exhausted after one day of hard work.

* * *

A noise woke Kaiji up, even earlier than his alarm. He opened his eyes, recognizing the sound. "The door closing?", he thought, confused. He got up, annoyed, and walked towards the front door, surprised to find a man standing there, in the middle of the corridor.

"…Sahara?" Kaiji opened his eyes widely.

What the hell was he doing there?

"Hi there." Sahara smiled, ignoring Kaiji's reaction. "I wanted to come visit before you left to work."

Kaiji rolled his eyes. What was wrong with everyone lately? He then focused his attention on another thing, worried.

"How did you get in here, anyways?" He asked, looking at his friend.

"You left your key inside and forgot to lock, again." Sahara replied, walking past Kaiji. "You really have some bad habits, huh?"

They had known each other since high school, during the years Kaiji attended classes. He had dropped out before finishing his studies, but Sahara kept in touch with him.

Kaiji watched as his friend walked towards his bedroom, not really caring about Kaiji's complaints.

"You know, I haven't heard about you lately. I was starting to get worried. So I went here just to make sure everything's okay." Sahara said, looking around the room. "As untidy as usual."

Kaiji clicked his tongue, following Sahara.

"I don't really want to hear that from you." He replied.

Sahara chuckled. He spotted the envelope and glared at it, curious. He took it and looked inside.

"What's this?"

Kaiji walked next to him, trying to take the envelope from his hands, but Sahara raised his arm, trying to get it out of Kaiji's reach.

"Oops!" He said, smirking. "Is it something important?"

"Sahara! Hand it over!" Kaiji frowned.

Sahara laughed as he gave the envelope to Kaiji.

"What is it? It's way too fancy for you." He asked, still feeling curious about it.

Kaiji looked away.

"It's none of your business…"

"Oh, come on!" Sahara rested one hand on Kaiji's shoulder. "We've known each other for years, Kaiji. You can tell me a few secrets."

Kaiji glared at him, still frowning. How nosy could he be?

"You better keep it a secret." He said.

Sahara shrugged his shoulders.

"Do I look like I have any other friends to talk to?" He mocked him.

Kaiji sighed and sat on his bed, looking at the envelope that he was holding.

"It's an invitation… to Kazuya Hyoudou's next party."

Sahara looked at him with his eyes widely opened.

"What?! For you?"

Kaiji nodded. Yes, that was the reaction he had expected. Sahara now looked confused.

"But… why? I mean, how? How did they give it to you? Are you sure it's not a mistake?"

"It's not. An affiliate with him handed me this personally." Kaiji said, still staring at the envelope.

Sahara blinked twice, thinking about Kaiji's words.

"So… what are you going to do?" He asked after a few moments of silence.

Kaiji didn't answer to that. Sahara folded his arms, frowning.

"Kaiji! Are you sure about this? I mean…" He started.

"I am! Don't try to lecture me, Sahara." Kaiji looked back at his friend, with a serious expression.

Sahara sighed... and sat next to him.

"Alright, alright." He said. "What about the suit? The dance moves?"

"As for the suit… they're handing me one" Kaiji replied.

"Oh, that's really lucky. I never actually got to wear a suit, since I didn't graduate from high school." Sahara said, raising his eyebrows. He made a short pause, but as he saw that Kaiji wasn't adding anything to his sentence, he asked. "So? What about dancing? We all know Kazuya loves fancy parties with dances…"

But even when Sahara asked about it straight-forward, Kaiji didn't answer. The blond-haired boy leaned forward to look at his friend's face. He looked worried and serious at the same time.

"No dancing, huh?" He said in a low voice. He then got up, out-stretching his arms. "That's alright, buddy. I can lend you a hand with that."

Kaiji looked at him, surprised.

"You know how to dance?" He asked, feeling suddenly relieved.

Sahara looked back at him, not knowing what to say, and then burst into laughter.

"Come on, Kaiji!" He said, trying to catch his breath. "How would I?"

Kaiji blinked a few times, confused.

"Then what...?" He mumbled.

"I know someone who can help you!" Sahara grinned.

* * *

Kaiji had never felt such a need to strangle anyone as much as he had felt that day. He was coming back home after meeting the person Sahara told him that would teach him to dance. And he couldn't believe how easily he had been tricked by him. He sighed, exhausted. He wished he was at least exhausted due to the dance practice, but that wasn't the reason behind it. Mikoko. She was the once who was teaching him to dance, under Sahara's recommendation. And she always drained all of Kaiji's energies.

She had been Kaiji's neighbor when he was a student, when he had rented an apartment with Sahara to spend his high school years with him. From the first day she saw him, she had a strong crush for him, always following him everywhere, trying to find chances to be alone with him… which forced Kaiji to end up moving from that apartment to another, hoping she wouldn't find him this time. Sahara had always tried to make their relationship bloom, but Kaiji wasn't interested in her at all.

And now, having not seen her for years, finally able to live a quiet life away from her, Sahara had set up a way for them to meet each other. "You idiot", thought Kaiji.

He arrived home, thankful for finally being on his own and being able to rest after such a tiring day. When he opened the door, he looked surprised at something that was lying on the floor. A package. He then frowned. "Sahara must have come sometime during the afternoon. Otherwise the package wouldn't be inside the apartment. I'm sure he's got a copy of the key, somehow…", he thought "I'll have to talk to him about it".

He made sure he locked the door when he closed it, and then picked up the package, walking to his bedroom. He sat on the bed, leaving the package on his knees, and started opening it. He pulled a plastic bag out of it… with a suit inside. He opened his eyes widely as he took the suit out of the bag, surprised. It was such a high-quality suit… He sighed. "I can't let them get me with these things… I have to stay determined", he thought. It was a black suit, full set, with a black bow tie and a pair of classy shoes. He couldn't deny it: he was impressed.

He pressed his lips as he got up, trying to check if the suit was his size… "It is", he thought. Was he feeling… excited about it? He left the suit on his bed and checked his phone. "This weekend". And he forgot about having to meet with Mikoko until the previous day of the party.

* * *

Kaiji checked once again if his bow tie was properly placed, feeling nervous. He placed some hair locks behind his ear, and tied his hair in a ponytail, falling over his back. He put his blazer on and finally walked outside his apartment, trying his best to feel confident about it.

It didn't surprise him to see Sahara waiting for him next to the door. He raised an eyebrow.

"What do you want?"

Sahara grinned, taking out of his pocket a small bottle of perfume.

"My dad had some left." He said, spraying some of it around Kaiji.

"You stole it?" Kaiji frowned.

But Sahara's smile only widened. Yeah, Sahara hadn't changed one bit. Kaiji walked past him, waving his hand.

"I'm off."

"Good luck, man! Try not to embarrass yourself too much." Sahara said.

Kaiji didn't answer. He walked through the streets, focused on remembering the address of the party. But he soon saw that it wasn't that hard to find. After a couple of minutes, he saw fancy cars stopping nearby. The people coming out of them were well dressed up, with elegant dresses and smoothed suits. Kaiji tried to follow them discreetly, until they arrived to a mansion. It was surrounded by high fences, and guards were standing in front of the main gate. "Here it is…", he thought, looking at the outstanding building.

He walked towards the guards, showing them his invitation, and they let him in, along with other guests that had also been invited. Kaiji could feel his neck sweating, nervous about that situation. He was walking inside Kazuya Hyoudou's mansion. He had his fists closed tight as he walked inside the mansion. There were more guards at the enormous hall, who did a body-check on Kaiji and the other guests, and then let them in.

The main room was as big as the classical dance rooms. Kaiji looked around, amazed at the golden hanging lamps and at the pillars that divided the room into equal halves.

The floor was polished, and had golden motifs on it. The ceiling was very high, but Kaiji could see that it had Kazuya's personal emblem on it. Behind the pillars, that formed corridors, were long tables with tempting dishes. A few waiters stood next to them, serving drink and food to the people passing by.

Kaiji stood close to one pillar, watching how the room started to get full of people. People he had never seen before. He sighed. "What am I supposed to do now?", he thought.

Then, the people around him stopped talking and looked at the main door, as a man walked in, followed by another guy. Kaiji glared at them, seeing how people made a corridor for them. "Who are those?", he couldn't deny his curiosity.

The man walking ahead had reddish hair, tied up in a ponytail that fell over his shoulder. He was wearing a black suit, with a red shirt and a white necktie. He was talking to the man walking behind him, a guy with short dark hair, styled to one side, wearing a black suit too. They stopped at the middle of the room, and soon people started approaching them, talking to them.

Kaiji stared at them. Everyone seemed to know them. He walked closer to one of the waiters, asking him in a low voice:

"Who are they?"

The waiter looked back at him slightly surprised.

"You don't know them, sir? Seiya Ichijou and Murakami, important guests for Kazuya that have never missed one of his parties. They're known for holding one of the most important ballrooms in the city." He explained.

He made a gesture towards them when he said their names. Ichijou was the one with reddish hair, and Murakami the one with short hair… Kaiji frowned.

"Yeah, I've heard their names before." He said.

He then walked away, back to where the crowd was, gazing at the two of them. "A ballroom, huh?", he thought. Yeah, he had definitely seen them before. They also were an amazing dance pair.

"So, Seiya, are you going to impress us with another dance today?" Kaiji overheard a conversation.

"You know we're all waiting for it!" Said another woman.

Ichijou chuckled lightly.

"Of course, my ladies, my gentlemen. This is a dance party, after all." He replied.

Kaiji looked away. Well, as long as people's attention were focused on both of them, he wouldn't have to worry about not fitting… Then, a voice sounding through the speakers caught everyone's attention, making them look at the box seat, where someone was standing.

"I'll require everybody's attention for a few minutes." He said. "I wanted to thank all of you for finding the time to assist to my party."

Kaiji frowned. "Kazuya Hyoudou", he thought, staring at him.

"I hope you all have a great night here. The floor is yours." With those words, calm music started to sound through the speakers, and Kazuya stepped back.

The guests started to talk again, some of them already looking for partners to dance with. Kaiji pressed his lips as he walked towards the tables. A waiter approached him, asking him if he wanted his help, but Kaiji only asked for a glass of wine. He thanked the waiter as he handed him the drink, and then walked back next to a pillar, gazing at the people in there. His eyes stopped on Ichijou and Murakami. They were chatting with each other. There was something about them that caught Kaiji's attention… was it just curiosity?

A couple of ladies approached Ichijou and Murakami, wanting to talk with them. They both turned around to look at the women, and Ichijou smiled at them to try to make them feel less nervous about it.

"Good evening, my ladies." He said. "How can I help you?"

"Oh, actually…" One of them stepped forward, smiling back at Ichijou. She placed one hair lock behind her ear. "We were wondering if you already had a dance partner for tonight…"

Ichijou chuckled lightly and glared at Murakami, who smiled back at him.

"Well, my first dance always goes for Murakami, you know…" He replied.

"Yes, of course, we know that…" The woman said, pressing her lips. "But, maybe after that…"

Ichijou looked back at the lady.

"I want to choose my partner. I'm sorry, maybe some other time." He said.

The two women apologized and walked away, feeling slightly embarrassed. Kaiji glanced at Ichijou. The music suddenly changed, and pairings started to form.

Murakami offered his hand to Ichijou, and they started to dance, in the middle of the room. The rest of the couples stopped to look at them. They were amazing, in sync with each other. Murakami was leading the dance, and Ichijou seemed so light when he danced, his feet sliding on the floor, never missing a move. Everyone was staring at them, impressed, and Kaiji wasn't an exception. He tried his best to follow the moves. It was the first time he saw such a good dance pairing. Murakami's grip was steady, his feet were always one step ahead of Ichijou's. The younger man seemed to entrust himself completely to the other, letting him guide him, following him with elegance.

When the music ended, they stopped, receiving resounding applauses. They both bowed their heads and stepped back, hand in hand, ready for the next dance. Kaiji suddenly felt stupid. "What am I doing here?", he thought "This is definitely no place for me".

Before the second dance started, everyone gathered up around Ichijou, asking him to be their partner. Kaiji walked away, feeling uncomfortable for being there, but then Ichijou spotted him. He made his way through the crowd, letting go of Murakami's hand, until he was next to Kaiji. He pulled his sleeve, making him turn around to look at him. Kaiji opened his eyes widely when he saw it was Ichijou who pulled him.

"…Huh?" He mumbled, not knowing how to react.

Everyone in the room went quiet. "Who is that man?", were the words they wanted to say out loud. Ichijou was staring at Kaiji, with a serious expression.

"He's going to be my dance partner." He said.

"W-what?!" Kaiji blinked twice, not sure he heard well.

All the people in the room reacted the same way. Even Murakami was surprised.

"But I…!" Kaiji started, trying to get out of that situation.

"No buts!" Ichijou dragged him to the middle of the room. "You don't have a partner, right?"

"Well, I don't, but…" Kaiji couldn't form proper sentences. He couldn't believe what was happening.

Ichijou got closer to him to whisper to his ear:

"I don't really like all of this people trying to take advantage of me. It's always the same. You don't look like you would try to do that, so let's just enjoy the night dancing."

"What?", Kaiji thought. Ichijou gave him a smile and put a hand over his shoulder.

"The next dance is going to start, ladies and gentlemen." He said out loud. "Let's have fun."

Kaiji opened his mouth, but words didn't come out. He was trying to avoid getting noticed, and all of a sudden he found himself in the middle of the room, with everyone staring at him, and about to start dancing with Seiya Ichijou. As he was looking for the words to refuse the dance, the music started, making him gasp. Ichijou looked at him, holding his hand tightly to make him focus.

"Let's go." He whispered.

Kaiji remembered Mikoko's teaching.

"Always remember to take the lead. If you're going to be in one of those parties, you have to make sure they don't find out about your lack of skills. I can't teach you everything in a few days, but at least you can do something. You have to be confident in yourself, to look like you know what you're doing. If you let them lead, they will notice it", she had explained to him.

Take the lead. Hide your mistakes. Kaiji held tightly Ichijou's hand, placing his free hand on his waist. His body moved closer to Ichijou as they started dancing. The grasp of their hands was steady, and their gazes met as they tried to follow each other's movements. People around them were staring at them, but Kaiji managed to focus on his partner, on the movement of his feet. Ichijou leant closer to whisper:

"Take it easy."

Kaiji blinked twice, surprised. Did he notice his flaws? Was he making too many mistakes? He pressed his lips as he continued dancing. He had to keep everything under control.

His grasp got steady as he guided Ichijou, moving around the room, and, after feeling confident enough about it, raising Ichijou from the floor for a few seconds. When Ichijou's feet touched the ground again, he smiled at Kaiji, making his heartbeat go faster. But he kept focused on his following moves, doing his best to match Ichijou's professionalism.  
The nervousness Kaiji had felt at first seemed to disappear as the dance progressed, feeling confident about it. Ichijou was incredible. He seemed so light between his hands, it was so easy for Kaiji to move him around, to dance with him.

Ichijou followed him with elegant moves, his feet barely touching the floor, as his steps followed Kaiji's. He didn't even know the name of his partner, but he entrusted himself to him, letting him lead the dance completely. And he knew he had picked the right partner. Trying his best not to be rough, dancing around carefully, leading Ichijou softly, but following the music's rhythm at the same time. He made him feel at ease.

Kaiji could feel an invisible bond forming between the two of them. Their moves were in sync with the music, and he was starting to feel relaxed. Ichijou was an amazing partner. His movements were full of beauty, of delicacy, and he could feel his previous strong heartbeat calming down thanks to him. There was something about him that drawn Kaiji closer to him. He was the most beautiful person Kaiji had ever seen... and the light smile that appeared briefly on his lips confirmed that.

The dance continued, and Kaiji was the first to press his lips, feeling the sweat sliding down his neck. He didn't slow down his movements, but he was starting to feel hot. They kept looking at each other, focusing on the dance, trying to control their breath. Kaiji was surprised at how Ichijou didn't seem affected by the heat that could be felt around them. He was used to this. He looked like he would have been able to dance for hours.

Their hands were tightly closed around each other, and Kaiji could feel Ichijou's body leaning closer as they increased the pace of their moves. The music was going faster, and they were adapting their rhythm to it. Ichijou's grip on Kaiji's shoulder tightened, and Kaiji tried his best to breath calmly. Kaiji's movements were harsher than Ichijou's, who tried to adapt himself to Kaiji's style. They turned around, Kaiji spin Ichijou a few times, and when they regained their previous position, Ichijou was standing closer to Kaiji than before. They felt warmth being built between them, through their touch, through their moves. They didn't lose their balance at any moment. And Kaiji didn't know if he was more focused on not messing up or on Ichijou.

They didn't notice how the other guests had completely stopped their dances to look at them, amazed. When the music ended, they both stopped dancing, their chests going up and down from their breathing. They looked at each other and smiled proudly as the crowd applauded. Kaiji couldn't believe it. He had danced. And with Seiya Ichijou.

The people approached them, all of them asking Ichijou to dance with them next, and the dancer stepped back.

"No, I'm sorry, but I…" He tried to talk, but the crowd just kept asking, their voices stifling his own.

Kaiji gazed at Ichijou, and without giving it a second thought, he grabbed him by the arm and started walking at a fast pace, dragging him behind. Ichijou opened his eyes widely in surprise, following Kaiji and staring at his back. Kaiji did his best to ignore the people calling them, and didn't stop walking until they got out of the room. He then dragged Ichijou to a side corridor, where the toilets were. He let out a sigh as he let go of Ichijou's arm, resting his back on the wall, still sweating because of the dance. He then looked at the other man, noticing what he had just done.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I just…" He tried to explain.

Ichijou simply smiled at him.

"It's alright. You surprised me, but it's okay. I don't like people running at me at once." He replied.

Oh, there it was that smile again. Kaiji looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed. But Ichijou walked closer to him.

"By the way, you did quite good out there." He said. "A bit unskilled, but you could get really good at it if you keep practicing."

Kaiji pressed his lips, awkward for talking about that.

"I'm no match for you…" He replied.

"That's why you wanted to decline my offer to dance with me?" Ichijou pointed out.

Kaiji looked back at him, surprised. Had he been that obvious?

"I'm sorry, I just…" He tried to justify himself.

Ichijou chuckled lightly, making him stop his sentence. He stood next to Kaiji, glaring at him.

"It's alright." He said.

He placed a few hair locks that had fallen over his face behind his ear, probably due to the dance. The lights on that corridor were very faint, which only gave Ichijou more of a mysterious and beautiful look. Kaiji kept glaring at him, feeling how his heart pounded faster. Seiya Ichijou was on another level. An unreachable level. He had expected him to be cold towards others, to keep his distance, to be like all the other rich boys around there, but he just looked like someone who loved dancing and wanted to have a good time at a party. And before Kaiji could realize it, he had already been dragged to him, interested about the man standing next to him.

Ichijou flashed a smile to Kaiji before walking a few steps away, standing in front of him.

"Well, Murakami must be worried about me. I should come back. I have all of these people's expectations to meet, after all." He said.

Those words made Kaiji step forward, closer to Ichijou, who didn't move. They stared at each other, and Kaiji started to get worried about his own heartbeat, way faster and stronger than usual. One of his hands found its way to Ichijou's, entwining their fingers. And before letting Ichijou say anything or step back, Kaiji leant towards him, until their lips met. He closed his eyes, trying to forget about everything else, focusing on the soft touch of Ichijou's lips.

Everything around them was quiet. Kaiji had felt some sort of romantic feeling building up inside him, though he wouldn't have been able to explain it. Ichijou had captivated him. His elegance while he danced, his perfectly calculated moves, his charming smile, his beauty… Kaiji had been unavoidably drawn by him.

When Kaiji broke the kiss, Ichijou had to blink a couple of times before being able to react. He looked at Kaiji, confused.

"…What are you doing?" He said, pulling Kaiji slightly back.

Kaiji tried to avoid meeting his eyes, feeling embarrassed.

"I… I'm sorry. I just… really wanted to…" He said in a low voice, almost whispering.

He immediately regretted doing it. He had never felt that awkward before. He stepped back, not knowing what to do. What was wrong with him?

"…It's alright. I'll take that as a compliment. I kind of like you too, after all. You're interesting." Ichijou said, making Kaiji look back at him. A small smile appeared on his lips, and he turned around, starting to walk away. "See you."

Kaiji thought about what Ichijou had just said. "I kind of like you too"? He felt his cheeks getting red, and he took one step forward.

"Ichijou!"

The man stopped, looking at Kaiji, slightly surprised.

"Yes?" He asked.

The music coming from the main room could be heard from there. The next dance had started. Kaiji bowed his head as he out-stretched his right hand towards Ichijou.

"May I have this dance?" He said, not giving his words a second-thought. And he would probably feel embarrassed about it later.

Ichijou stared at him, impressed. He smiled and walked towards him, taking his hand.

"Pleasure is mine."


End file.
